Elon Musk reveals why SpaceX lost control of Starship and crashed over Indian Ocean
SpaceX's ambitious Starship program faced another setback as its ninth test flight ended in a fiery crash over the Indian Ocean in wee hours of Wednesday.CEO Elon Musk addressed the incident, highlighting both the mission's progress and the technical issues that led to the failure.Musk confirmed that Starship achieved its scheduled main engine cutoff, marking a significant improvement over previous flights. Notably, there was no significant loss of heat shield tiles during ascent, a positive development for the spacecraft's thermal protection system.advertisement
However, the mission was ultimately compromised by leaks that caused a loss of main tank pressure during the coast and re-entry phases. This loss of pressure led to the rocket spinning out of control and breaking apart as it re-entered Earth's atmosphere at high speed.Starship Flight 9: Ship 35 has lost attitude control. pic.twitter.com/GLEg2cQx12— NSF - NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight) May 28, 2025'Leaks caused loss of main tank pressure during the coast and re-entry phase. Lot of good data to review,' Musk stated, emphasising that every test, even those ending in failure, provides valuable insights for future improvements.The heat shield, which had been a concern in earlier flights, performed well, and the vehicle made it further than in previous attempts.The test also included a partially successful reuse of the Super Heavy booster and attempted deployment of mock Starlink satellites, although the payload doors failed to open fully — an issue seen in earlier tests as well.advertisementLooking ahead, Musk announced that the launch cadence for the next three Starship flights will increase, with launches scheduled every three to four weeks.Fair play to SpaceX for continuing to show Ship while they still had comms with it. Most companies would have ended the stream by now. pic.twitter.com/5JT7NcOHM8— NSF - NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight) May 28, 2025This accelerated pace reflects SpaceX's 'fail fast, learn fast' philosophy, using each test to refine the rocket's systems and bring the company closer to its goals of lunar and Mars missions.Despite the dramatic crash, the mission yielded critical data, reinforcing SpaceX's commitment to rapid development and iterative testing as it continues to push the boundaries of spaceflight.Must Watch
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